Upcoming Event: Baseball at Hawai'i on March 25, 2027
Baseball
at Hawai'i
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Tuesday, April 15
Lawrence, KS
4 p.m.
Grand Canyon
19-15
5
at
3
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Kansas
22-16
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Runs R | Hits H | Errors E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Canyon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 1 |
| Kansas | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 3 |
Chad De La Guerra went 3-for-4 at the plate in tonight's win at Kansas
Photo by: Theon Carrier
Lopes Rally in the Seventh Inning to Defeat Kansas
4/15/2014 7:04:00 PM | Baseball
Open five-game roadtrip with win in Lawrence
The Grand Canyon University baseball team (19-15, 8-4 WAC) opened their five-game roadtrip with a 5-3 win over Kansas (22-16, 6-6 Big 12) tonight at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan. The Antelopes jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after three innings, but the Jayhawks scored the next three runs to claim their first lead in the sixth. GCU responded with three runs in the top of the seventh and held Kansas scoreless over the final three frames to secure the win.
Click here for Michael Potter's postgame interview with assistant coach Nathan Choate.
"I think we are growing up," said head coach Andy Stankiewicz. "The guys are all into it and seem to be enjoying it. To come on the road and play against a really good Big 12 team is great. We were good early from a defensive standpoint, but not so great in the middle innings. At the end of the game when we needed to pick it up, we did. This win is good for the program."
Zebastian Valenzuela got the start for GCU and tossed a career-high 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks with a strikeout but did not factor into the decision.
Malcolm Purdy, who won twice over the weekend against Sacramento State, picked up his third straight win after tossing 4.0 scoreless frames, allowing just two hits and a walk in that time.
"Zebastian did a great job," said Stankiewicz. "He competed and that's what we needed to see out of him. As a freshman coming into a tough environment, he pitched well. And Malcolm did what he has been doing his last few outings."
Offensively, Chad De La Guerra led GCU after going 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Brian Kraft added two hits, while Humberto Aranda, Michael Pomeroy, and Josh Ethier also picked up an RBI for the Lopes. David Walker scored twice.
GCU got off to a quick start, loading the bases with just one out in the top of the first. Pomeroy plated Walker with an RBI single to left field to hand GCU the 1-0 lead, but the Jayhawks used a double play to end the frame before the Lopes tacked on more runs.
The Lopes looked to add another run on the board in the second after Kraft led off the frame with a double, but Kansas starter Drew Morovick retired the next three batters to strand Kraft at second.
De La Guerra tripled with one out in the third and one batter later, Aranda plated the second GCU run with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Kansas collected their first hits in the bottom of the third as they had runners on second and third via a single followed by a double. The Jayhawks cut GCU's lead in half with a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 2-1 with two outs in the third before Valenzuela retired his final batter.
Two innings later, Kansas knotted the score at two with another sacrifice fly in the fifth. The following frame, the Jayhawks took their first lead on their third sacrifice fly of the game to make it 3-2 in favor of Kansas.
A fielder's choice coupled with an error by the Jayhawks third baseman made it a tie ballgame at three in the seventh. Kraft drew a one-out walk and moved all the way to third on two passed balls before coming home on Ethier's ground ball to third.
GCU loaded the bases with two outs in the same frame and De La Guerra plated two of those with a single up the middle to put the Lopes ahead 5-3.
Purdy retired eight of the final 12 Jayhawks batters he faced, allowing just one to reach scoring position.
The two teams will play again tomorrow with game time slated for 4 p.m. (Arizona time). Fans can tune in to Independent Talk 1100 AM KFNX (online at www.1100kfnx.com or via the TuneIn Radio app on any smartphone) to listen to all of the action live.
GCU 5, Kansas 3
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Click here for Michael Potter's postgame interview with assistant coach Nathan Choate.
"I think we are growing up," said head coach Andy Stankiewicz. "The guys are all into it and seem to be enjoying it. To come on the road and play against a really good Big 12 team is great. We were good early from a defensive standpoint, but not so great in the middle innings. At the end of the game when we needed to pick it up, we did. This win is good for the program."
Zebastian Valenzuela got the start for GCU and tossed a career-high 5.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks with a strikeout but did not factor into the decision.
Malcolm Purdy, who won twice over the weekend against Sacramento State, picked up his third straight win after tossing 4.0 scoreless frames, allowing just two hits and a walk in that time.
"Zebastian did a great job," said Stankiewicz. "He competed and that's what we needed to see out of him. As a freshman coming into a tough environment, he pitched well. And Malcolm did what he has been doing his last few outings."
Offensively, Chad De La Guerra led GCU after going 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Brian Kraft added two hits, while Humberto Aranda, Michael Pomeroy, and Josh Ethier also picked up an RBI for the Lopes. David Walker scored twice.
GCU got off to a quick start, loading the bases with just one out in the top of the first. Pomeroy plated Walker with an RBI single to left field to hand GCU the 1-0 lead, but the Jayhawks used a double play to end the frame before the Lopes tacked on more runs.
The Lopes looked to add another run on the board in the second after Kraft led off the frame with a double, but Kansas starter Drew Morovick retired the next three batters to strand Kraft at second.
De La Guerra tripled with one out in the third and one batter later, Aranda plated the second GCU run with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Kansas collected their first hits in the bottom of the third as they had runners on second and third via a single followed by a double. The Jayhawks cut GCU's lead in half with a sacrifice fly to left field to make it 2-1 with two outs in the third before Valenzuela retired his final batter.
Two innings later, Kansas knotted the score at two with another sacrifice fly in the fifth. The following frame, the Jayhawks took their first lead on their third sacrifice fly of the game to make it 3-2 in favor of Kansas.
A fielder's choice coupled with an error by the Jayhawks third baseman made it a tie ballgame at three in the seventh. Kraft drew a one-out walk and moved all the way to third on two passed balls before coming home on Ethier's ground ball to third.
GCU loaded the bases with two outs in the same frame and De La Guerra plated two of those with a single up the middle to put the Lopes ahead 5-3.
Purdy retired eight of the final 12 Jayhawks batters he faced, allowing just one to reach scoring position.
The two teams will play again tomorrow with game time slated for 4 p.m. (Arizona time). Fans can tune in to Independent Talk 1100 AM KFNX (online at www.1100kfnx.com or via the TuneIn Radio app on any smartphone) to listen to all of the action live.
GCU 5, Kansas 3
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Purdy, Malcolm (4-2)
L: Smith, D. (1-2)
Batting:
2B: Kraft, Brian 1
3B: De La Guerra, Chad 1
RBI: De La Guerra, Chad 2 ; Aranda, Humberto 1 ; Pomeroy, Michael 1 ; Ethier, Josh 1
SH: Panaccione, Paul 1
SF: Aranda, Humberto 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Walker, David 2 ; De La Guerra, Chad 1 ; Kraft, Brian 1 ; Panaccione, Paul 1
CS: Smith, Brandon 1
PO: Smith, Brandon 1
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Batting:
2B: Protacio, J. 1 ; Smith, D. 1 ; Eldredge, K. 1
RBI: Wright, C. 1 ; Suiter, M. 1 ; Beck, B. 1
SF: Wright, C. 1 ; Suiter, M. 1 ; Beck, B. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Protacio, J. 1 ; Smith, D. 1 ; Hernandez 1
SB: Smith, D. 1 ; Tharp, T. 2
HBP: Tharp, T. 1
PO: Smith, D. 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
0
RBI
0
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